Ball honored with Against the Odds Award

FARMINGTON, Maine -- University of Maine at Farmington sophomore downhill skier Lindsay Ball (Benton, Maine) was recently recognized by Hardy Girls Healthy Women with the Girls Rock Against the Odds Award.

Lindsay Ball

Ball and the other Girls Rock award winners will be honored in a ceremony this evening at the University of Maine at Augusta.

Ball has been diagnosed with reninitis pigmentosa and nystagmus, which causes her to have constant eye motion and blurry vision. She competes in adaptive skiing with the assistance of guide Diane Barras. The guide speaks into a microphone when descending through the course and Ball follows Barras' commands through voice direction. She also has to wear blacked-out goggles.

In January, Ball won the visually impaired giant slalom at the U.S. Adaptive National Championships at Waterville Valley. She followed that performance with third place at the International Paralympic Committee World Cup in Winter Park, Colo., earlier this month.

Hardy Girls Healthy Women is a research-based non-profit working alongside girls to create a world where all girls and women experience equality, independence, and safety.